Airwallex Joins EPI — and Wero’s European Moment Hits a New Velocity

For months in the Brief, we’ve been tracking Wero’s evolution from an EU-backed ambition into a real payments network with political weight, consumer reach, and institutional buy-in. Belgium’s coordinated expansion gave the project a coherent foundation. Revolut’s integration signaled fintech validation. Banks across three markets delivered millions of users directly into the wallet’s ecosystem.

Now two developments arrive back-to-back — Airwallex becoming a Principal Member of EPI and Nuvei going live with Wero for European merchants — and suddenly Wero’s theoretical scale turns into commercial throughput.

This is the plot point the entire narrative has been moving toward.

Airwallex: The Merchant On-Ramp Europe Was Missing

Europe’s A2A landscape has long been a mosaic: fast, powerful, but fragmented. National schemes run on separate tracks, adoption varies by market, and merchants rarely get a unified way to accept instant payments across borders. EPI has spent the past two years stitching that landscape together — acquiring Payconiq and iDEAL, embedding Wero into banking apps, securing political and institutional backing.

Airwallex now gives that architecture reach. Its decision to integrate Wero directly into its platform means merchants across Europe — and international sellers entering Europe — can activate Wero without rewiring their systems or waiting for national infrastructure rollouts.

Kai Wu, Airwallex’s CRO, captured the significance: “Wero represents a major milestone for European commerce, and by offering it directly through our platform, we’re continuing to empower our global customer base with cutting-edge local payment methods.”

For EPI, this partnership represents a strategic alignment with a global payments platform that brings expertise in multi-currency accounts, embedded finance, and cross-border transactions. By integrating with Airwallex, Wero takes a significant step forward—evolving from an institutional initiative into a practical tool for everyday merchant use.

EPI CEO Martina Weimert underscored the strategic stakes: “Wero is built on the principles of simplicity, security, and sovereignty.”

By partnering with Airwallex, she added, Wero gains access to a diverse, international merchant base that actively shapes European digital commerce.

Nuvei: Wero Goes Live in Real Checkouts

If Airwallex provides the infrastructure for scale, Nuvei provides proof of execution. One day after Airwallex’s announcement, Nuvei confirmed that its eCommerce merchants have started processing real Wero transactions. Not pilots. Not internal tests. Actual consumer-initiated payments.

Nuvei was one of the first processors to successfully run a Wero transaction in testing earlier this year, and now becomes one of the first to push Wero into commercial traffic.

Phil Fayer, Nuvei’s Chair and CEO, framed the milestone sharply: “Today’s consumers expect flexibility, speed, and security at checkout, and Wero delivers on all three. We’re proud to help European merchants like CamperDays capture more sales and build trust with their customers.”

Early merchant adopters are already emerging. CamperDays — a major online campervan rental platform — added Wero through Nuvei to simplify its checkout and reduce friction.

Managing Director Max Schmidt put it simply: “Offering more choice at checkout helps us meet diverse preferences and deliver the best possible booking experience.”

EPI’s Martina Weimert echoed the significance again: “Seeing Wero live in eCommerce checkouts through Nuvei is an exciting milestone. Wero simplifies the payment experience for consumers while providing merchants with a cost-efficient alternative to traditional cards.”

• These transactions are significant because they show Wero operating as a fully functional payment method, actively being used in everyday European commerce rather than remaining a theoretical concept or regulatory aspiration.

A2A Acceleration, Now With Merchant Momentum

Across Europe, the trendline is unmistakable. SEPA Instant is approaching ubiquity. Domestic wallets are consolidating. PSD3 and SPAA are shifting incentives toward account-to-account rails. Checkout costs are under scrutiny. And merchants are actively seeking ways to reduce card dependency.

Wero is stepping directly into that moment with early traction that looks less like a pilot and more like the foundation of a continent-scale network. With over 46 million users and more than 100 million P2P transactions totaling over €5 billion, the volume is already substantial — and merchant adoption is now beginning to catch up.

The Story Comes Together

From the start, our coverage has framed Wero as more than another wallet. Belgium provided the governance and infrastructure blueprint. Revolut validated Wero among fintech users. Banks delivered embedded distribution. Airwallex now offers the merchant integration layer at scale. And Nuvei shows that real transactions are already flowing.

These pieces form a coherent arc — a coordinated European attempt to build a payment system aligned with regulatory expectations, merchant economics, and long-term digital sovereignty.

Wero spent two years laying the foundation.

 These two announcements mark the moment the network begins to move.